Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. is offering residents the opportunity to learn more about and test drive a variety of electric vehicles at a ride and drive event to be held at the Ulster County Fairgrounds on Saturday, April 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“Transportation is a significant source of carbon emissions throughout the world and adoption of EVs can help us drastically reduce our carbon footprint,” said Central Hudson CEO Christopher Capone. “Our Ride and Drive event is an excellent opportunity for our neighbors to test drive some of the most popular EV models available today and speak with experts to gain valuable insights.”

Up to 150 attendees can make an appointment to test drive an EV from a range of different makes and models including Tesla’s new Cybertruck. Each registered attendee may drive 2 vehicles. Test drives are approximately 10 minutes long. Guests are welcome to ride along in the back seat and all drivers will be accompanied by an EV expert. Visit https://evoptions.net/chge to schedule an appointment.

In addition, Central Hudson representatives will also attend an EV ride and drive event hosted by the Town of Red Hook on Saturday, April 13 from 1-4 p.m. at the Town Hall. Central Hudson will have electric vehicles from its fleet on hand including the Ford Mach-E and a Tesla Model 3. Many makes and models will be available for attendees to test drive. Red Hook Town Hall is located at 7340 South Broadway.

Central Hudson will spend at least 10 percent of its annual vehicle capital budget on fully electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles through 2025 and up to 50 percent by 2030. The utility also plans to reach 10 percent fleet electrification by 2025 and 50 percent by 2030. For more information on EV purchase incentives, residential and commercial charging incentives, free fleet assessments and more, visit www.cenhud.com/en/my-energy/electric-vehicles.

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